Fierce fighting between rebels and soldiers erupted Wednesday inside the headquarters of the Syrian General Staff, causing deaths on both sides, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). In a statement released by the official media, the Syrian army ensureD that all military commanders are "safe."

These clashes come after a double bombing which targeted the ultra-secured headquarters of the General Staff in the center of Damascus. Two explosions have occurred Wednesday morning. "Two terrorist explosions occurred near the building of the General Staff in Damascus," said the Syrian TV without elaborating. "A fire broke out in the area," it said.

"Two powerful explosions rocked Damascus," said on its part the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR), indicating that one occurred on a street just meters from the Umayyad Square in downtown Damascus, where the headquarters of the General Staff are located.

"Many ambulances heading to the site of the explosion," said Rami Abdel Rahman, president of the SOHR, citing opposition activists on the site. "Large columns of smoke are visible and windows were shattered in buildings hundreds of meters away from the place" of the explosion, which was squared by the security forces.

The other explosion occurred near the same place, he said, after previously reported a second explosion near the city of Kafar Sousse, in the west of the capital. The second explosion was accompanied by gunfire from automatic weapons, said the NGO.